2of8Supporters of Vice President Mike Pence wait in a designated area at the San Antonio International Airport for him to arrive, for his visit to San Antonio to make remarks at a Republican National Committee donor luncheon for the Trump Victory political action committee, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

3of8Vice President Mike Pence, right, and his wife Karen wave to supporters as they arrive at San Antonio International Airport. Pence is visiting San Antonio to make remarks at a Republican National Committee donor luncheon for the Trump Victory political action committee, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

7of8Vice President Mike Pence talks with members of the San Antonio Police Department before he leaves San Antonio, where he gave remarks at a Republican National Committee donor luncheon for the Trump Victory political action committee, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018.Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News

8of8Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, waves to supporters as she arrives at the San Antonio International Airport. The Vice President was in town to give remarks at a Republican National Committee donor luncheon for the Trump Victory political action committee, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018.Photo: Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Echoing his November trip to San Antonio in the wake of the Sutherland Springs massacre, Vice President Mike Pence told a room of GOP donors here Friday the Trump administration would take “a fresh look” at equipping local law enforcement to “deal with those struggling with dangerous mental illness.”

After reports revealed the suspect in a Thursday school shooting had a history of mental health treatment, prompting a tweet from President Donald Trump urging people to report “such instances to authorities,” Pence said the Justice Department is working with “other agencies” to study the intersection of mental health and criminality.

“As the president admonished yesterday, it’s not going to be enough to say we’re taking action,” Pence said. “We must actually make a difference. And we will.”

The shooting, which took place in Parkland, Florida, left 17 dead.

Though Pence did not offer specifics about how the administration might handle the issue of mentally ill people buying guns, or how it might otherwise prevent future attacks, he told the crowd that Trump would make school safety “a top priority” when meeting with governors later this month.

“While voices in Washington and in the media will run to their predictable debates, I promise you, this president and our entire administration are going to focus with renewed energy on getting to the bottom of the lessons to be learned in this investigation,” Pence said.

Near the beginning of his remarks, Pence recalled his last trip here, calling the Florida shooting “a heartache that Texas knows all too well.”

“Then, as now, hearts were broken,” Pence said. “Then as now, heroes were forged. Once again, our nation grieves for the loss of life. But once again, our nation has been inspired by selfless acts of courage.”

He went on to mention by name some of the victims of the Broward County shooting, including 14-year-old Alaina Petty, a member of the school’s junior ROTC, and Aaron Feis, a 37-year-old football coach who Pence said was killed “when he threw himself in front of students protecting them from oncoming bullets.”

The vice president’s address came less than two hours after he touched down at San Antonio International Airport for a brief stop here on the way to McAllen, where he plans to tour the border with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Pence also plans to meet with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to discuss wall infrastructure and technology and “the need to secure America’s borders,” a White House official said.

Pence’s visit Friday appeared to momentarily bring downtown to a standstill, with crowds gathering along a blocked-off Houston Street to snap photos and watch Pence’s motorcade roll through. Restaurant workers appeared on the sidewalk, still wearing aprons, to take selfies in front of the motorcade. A few children were perched atop their parents’ shoulders.

Cruz, up for re-election this year, was among the political heavyweights attending Pence’s speech at the donor luncheon, held at the Westin Riverwalk downtown, alongside Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

A handful of local politicians and candidates heard Pence talk, too, including Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff.

“I applaud the vice president’s comments on the need to protect our schools and teachers without pointing to any one aspect of doing that,” said Wolff, the lone Republican on Bexar County’s Commissioners Court. “What I heard is that the overriding goal is the protection of our children and teachers, and not trying to pick one political view over another on how to achieve that.“

Also in the room were state Rep. Jason Isaac of Dripping Springs, and former CIA officer William Negley, both of whom are running — among a field for 18 GOP candidates — for U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith’s District 21 seat.

Isaac said reports about the FBI’s apparent failure to follow protocol in responding to a prior tip about the shooter’s “erratic behavior,” among other concerns, reminded him of similar negligence by the Air Force before the Sutherland Springs shooting.

“It just leads me to believe that our government is so big and so bloated and people are forgetting who they work for,” Isaac said. “It’s extremely frustrating.”

The luncheon, put on by the Republican National Committee for the Trump Victory political action committee, kicked off with a short introduction from RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

In a call to action that has become common parlance among GOP fundraising pitches, McDaniel warned the room of the momentum building around Democrats this year, and urged those attending to avoid being complacent as the midterms approach.

“The Democrats are awake, they are energized, they are angry,” she said. “They are the party of resist and ‘no.’ And they are going to fight as hard as they can to take back majorities in 2018.”

Pence left for McAllen shortly after his speech and did not field questions from the media during his stop here.

He will travel to Dallas on Friday evening ahead of a pair of Saturday speaking appearances, which will include promotion of the recent GOP tax bill and future infrastructure work, and fundraising efforts.

Jasper covers City Hall, local politics and breaking news for the Houston Chronicle through the Hearst Journalism Fellowship program. He previously covered Bexar County and local politics for the San Antonio Express-News. Jasper graduated from Northwestern University in 2017 with degrees in journalism and political science. He has interned for the Tampa Bay Times, Washington Post and Fortune magazine.